An unusual case involving contaminated ground below a proposed waterpark could potentially put the stops on the project.
According to a report in the Times Herald-Record, the site of the yet-to-be-built $75 million Wildberry Lodge waterpark and resort in New Paltz, N.Y. is contaminated by pesticides from an old apple orchard.
There are two potential sites of contamination on 57-acre parcel know as Plesser property. The northern section includes an underground storage tank with water and gasoline that's contaminated shallow soil, while the center of the property is contaminated with arsenic, lead and a variety of pesticides from when it was an orchard.
This news doesn't seem to have the developer, Steve Turk, worried. In fact, he says there is a plan in place to rectify the issue and bring his vision for a 60,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, a 256-room hotel and a 10,000-square-foot conference center to life.
The six inches deep or so of contaminated dirt will be dug up and then buried elsewhere on the site, under the parking lot possibly, he told the news outlet.
Although he says the timeline for the project still is intact, the project potentially could be derailed if the government denies to award Turk the $15 million in grants he is seeking.
While the future of this project remains to be seen, we can;t help but wonder how common of an issue this is. Have any readers encountered this in the past? Could this project be at risk? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
